Author • Editor • Dreamer

The Book Doctor

If you were directed here from my How It Works page, please keep in mind that I am only offering formatting at this time. The Book Doctor is on hold along with my editing service until later in the year. Thank you!

Proofreading in general is the final quality checkpoint between the creation of the book and its publication. Each proofreader will have their own checklist and standards, so if you are shopping around, be sure to ask what each proofreader’s service covers.

I will not proofread a book that I have edited. By the time I get through with editing, I am too close to the work and might overlook any errors I may have missed previously. If I have edited your work (or you are considering my services), allow me to recommend Michelle King or Jae Dawn (contact information can be found on my main services page).

The Doctor Is In

I offer a unique form of proofreading that is tailored to the independent author. This service is only for books that have been completely edited (and usually formatted); it is most often used for books that are already published and on the market.

Books up to 80,000 words—$75
Books over 80,000 words—$100

The checkup

When a book goes to the Doctor, it gets a checkup. The quality of your book’s editing and formatting will determine my diagnosis.

Most of the time, the first three chapters are the cleanest and most intensely scrutinized by authors and editors, so if your book needs work, it will be found further in. I will examine samples from the beginning, middle, and end of your book. Here are some things I check for:

typographical errors

misspellings or spelling inconsistencies

missing or misplaced words and punctuation

glaring grammatical errors

awkward formatting or formatting errors

cover appearance and color (formatted)

overall appearance (formatted)

A clean bill of health

If I determine your book has less than a 10% error rate [(# errors / # pages) * 100], which is roughly 0-1 errors per 10 pages, it gets a clean bill of health. I will fully proofread your book and return to you a list with each error, the suggested correction, the page number on which I found it, and the sentence surrounding it for context.

Needs surgery

If I determine your book has greater than a 10% error rate, which is roughly 2 or more errors per 10 pages, I will tell you it needs surgery. This means I believe you have more errors than a proofreader should be reasonably paid for, and that your book needs to see an actual editor.

If your book is slated with “needs surgery,” I will apply the amount you already paid for the Doctor to a line edit at a cost of $0.0075 per word. Details on what a line edit includes can be found on my editing services page.

If you paid $75, this covers 10,000 words.

If you paid $100, this covers 13,334 words.

You have the right to refuse this line edit if you so choose. However, The Book Doctor cost is non-refundable, so I recommend taking the edit to get your money’s worth. If you do not have “insurance” (see the section below), and you choose to hire me as your editor, the amount you paid for the Doctor will be subtracted from your final editing estimate.

Do you have insurance?

If I’ve recommended editing but you had already hired a professional editor to edit your book, and you can prove that you have paid for this service, I will give your novel a complete line edit for absolutely no further cost.

This is a huge savings that keeps you from having to pay another editor full price, and it is for this reason that I started The Book Doctor in the first place.

Free sample proof

Not sure whether you need The Book Doctor? I will give you a free ten-page proofread from the middle of your book. If it is error-free, your book probably doesn’t need a checkup! If I find between 1–3 errors, I will recommend The Book Doctor. If I find more than 3 errors, I will outright recommend editing.

Need a quote?

If you have any questions or would like to request a sample proof or checkup, don’t hesitate to contact me or fill out the form at the bottom of my main services page; I’ll get back to you within 1-2 business days!

Disclaimer:

The Book Doctor is not a medical professional. Any suggestions of services that would benefit your book are of my own professional opinion as an editor and do not obligate you to follow any such advice. Should I recommend editing, you are by no means required to use myself as your editor and are fully encouraged to shop around and find the right editor for your book if you believe the right editor to be someone other than myself. Any payments I receive for The Book Doctor service are non-refundable, regardless of my diagnosis for your book or the route you choose to take in response to my advice.